The Haggard Beginning
by PEW-PEW-MEXICANO
Summary: People always think I'm this nice, caring, smiley girl. And I am now, for the most part, but I wasn't always this way. I used to be spiteful, mean, and hateful. I used to hate everything and everyone, even God, even myself. Then I met her and it was like someone turned on the lights and everything became clearer.
1. Chapter 1

**This is gonna be like one really big story that's in a bunch of little stories. Like this one is The Haggard Beginning and there will be a lot of sequels, so just look out for them, they're all part of the same thing. I'll probably tell you the title in of the next one in the last chapter of this one. **

TORI POV

People always think I'm this nice, caring, smiley girl. And I am now, for the most part, but I wasn't always this way. I used to be sick; I used to have a rare form of an extremely painful cancer, I was only six. My parents used to always work, trying to make whatever money they could to pay for my medical bills. Though they hated it, they were never home, Trina was older and healthy, she could go to school and come home and fend for herself. But I was sick, and needed constant care and attention. I used to live with my Aunt Sonja, always sick, never being able to play or make friends. I used to be spiteful, mean, and _hateful_. I used to hate everything and everyone, even God, even myself. Then I met _her_ and it was like someone turned on the lights and everything became clearer. She became my savior and, though I didn't know it at the time, I would become hers.

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**7-YEAR-OLD TORI POV**

It was a bright Sunday morning and I was feeling a little better than I have been, so Aunt Sonja decided to celebrate by going to my favorite dinner. I usually don't like going out in public, I don't like the sad looks that people always give me, but the little restaurant was always an exception. It was like an old 1950's dinner with checkerboard floors and leather booths. But what made this diner special was the toy shop on the other half of the store with classic robots and original Barbie dolls. I would come here any day no matter how sick I was.

Aunt Sonja and I were sitting opposite each other in the booth, both of us stuffing our faces with pancakes. Then I got this familiar feeling of someone staring at me. Even though I had a beanie cap on it was still obvious that I was bald, you could still tell I was different from everyone else. Glaringly I looked up, trying to find my _admirer_, and see a little girl with pale skin and jet black hair duck behind her booth. Aunt Sonja got up saying she had to go to the bathroom and I nod my head, still watching the girl. The two ladies that were with her, her mom and her friend I guess, look down with amused smiles on their faces. It makes me mad that they think it's funny, like I'm a joke. The girl's mother nudges her out of the booth and she starts to walk over to me. When I see her I can't help but stare a little bit. She was just so pretty! Light milky skin and hair as dark as the night sky, red lips, she was like a real life Snow White.

"I like your beanie," I hear the girl mumble. Too be honest, I liked it too, it was my favorite in fact. It was black with pink skulls all over it, but no one ever complimented me, just told me they were sorry. So I go back to eating my pancakes, completely ignoring the dark haired girl.

"Hey! I gave you a compliment! The least you can do is say thank you!" The girl's cheeks are tinged pink and I get really mad and push her down. I hear a gasp and see her mom's friend start to get up but the girl gets up and shoves me back into the booth. I see her mom put her hand on her friends arm but I turn back to the girl as she starts yelling again.

"What's your problem!? All I did was say that I liked your hat!"

"No! You were making fun of me!" I retaliate.

"Why would I be making fun of you!?" She questions. This makes me mad again; I hate it when people play dumb.

"Because I'm bald you jerk face!" I yell as I rip off my beanie. She looks stunned for a second before she's ripping her own black and blue beanie out of her pocket and jamming it in my face.

"My moms make me take it off when I'm inside you butthead!" Butthead? Moms? I don't have time to question her before she's talking again in the same mumble she started out with. "I was sort of hoping maybe you'd switch with me, I like yours better."

I was thinking about it, Aunt Sonja says friends sometimes share things and I didn't really have any friends so I guess it couldn't hurt anything. "Fine, but you have to take good care of it! It's my favorite one." I tell her as I take her black and blue stripped one and put it over my head, sliding mine towards the edge of the table. She carefully puts it over her slightly curly hair and smiles up at me, showing where she had lost one of her front teeth. I look at her for a little bit, liking the way her smile looks even with the missing tooth when she speaks again.

"I'm Jade," She offers her hand and I take it in mine shaking it up a down a few times.

"Tori," I tell her, and she nods and heads back to sit beside her mom and they both whisper something before she lets out a giggle. Her laugh sounds like bells and I'm so distracted by it I don't even notice Aunt Sonja coming back until she speaks to me.

"That isn't the hat you were wearing, where'd you get it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**7-YEAR-OLD JADE POV**

Today's Sunday. Which meant it we were having Suzy's Dinner pancakes for brunch! We walk into the old time restaurant and go to our usual booth. My mom sits beside the window and I sit beside her, Momma sits across from mom and Jenny, the waitress, comes to take our order. I hear the bell above the door ring and I turn to see who walked in.

"Jade! Don't be so nosy!" Mom tells me, but I can't help but stare. The girl that walked in was just so pretty! If I was to picture an angle, it would look like her. She had skin the color of Mom's coffee and really dark brown eyes; she didn't have any hair though, just a beanie cap. I _love_ beanie caps, I wear them all the time but Mom makes me take it off when we're inside. Momma will let me wear it around the house sometimes, but I can't tell Mom that.

"Jade," Mom nudges me and I turn back to her. "Who are you looking at?"

"She was looking at the little girl that just walked in, I think Jadey here might have a crush, Katie." Momma says with a little laugh and Mom turns to me as I stare at my napkin.

"Do you think that girl is pretty Jade?" She asks me.

"No! I just like her beanie!" I tell her.

"Look, She's blushing! Awww!" Momma points to my cheeks "Jade has a girlfriend!" Momma sings and Mom laughs.

"Alex, I swear you're worse than Lindsay Lohan in _The Parent Trap_!" Mom says.

"Did you just compare me to that drug addict!?" Momma almost yells.

"Of course not, _Alex_." Mom says with a smile that means she's kidding.

"I think you did, _Katie_." Momma argues back. Then they started talking over each other and they were getting loud.

"Moms!? Moms!" They stop and look at me before we all burst out laughing and Mom looks back to me after calming down a little bit.

"If you really like her hat," I see Momma doing air quotes and Mom sticks her tongue out at her and she does it right back before Mom continues telling me what she was saying but I wasn't listening. I was staring at her again, she was eating her pancakes like she's never seen them before and it was kind of cute to watch. She goes really still and lifts her head up slowly to look around, when her eyes meet mine I dash back around and realize Momma had been calling my name and they both start laughing when they see the embarrassed look I knew was on my face.

"Like I was trying to tell you before _someone_ decided to be immature." She gives Momma a dirty look and she puts her hands up in defense. "If you really like her hat, then you should go tell her."

"I can't just go tell her!" I try to reason with her, but she doesn't listen.

"Sure you can!" She says as she pushes me out of my seat and shoos me away. I walk over towards her and the lady that I didn't ever realize was with her went to the restrooms. The girl is staring at me and I'm starring right back, but she looks down at her plate when I stop in front of her.

"I like your beanie," I mumble and she completely ignores me! This makes me mad and I yell at her, though I don't really mean to. "Hey! I gave you a compliment! The least you can do is say thank you!"

For some reason that made her really mad and she pushes me down. I make a huffing sound as I land on my butt and I hear Mom gasp and I know they're about to do something, but I can handle this. I stand right back up and push the girl back into her booth.

"What's your problem!? All I did was say that I liked your hat!" I question.

"No! You were making fun of me!" What? How was I making fun of her?

"Why would I be making fun of you!?" I ask her getting irritated; couldn't the girl take a compliment?

"Because I'm bald you jerk face!" She yells as she yanks off her beanie, and I get even more confused, of course I knew she was bald. How could I not? Then it hit me, being bald isn't really normal, so people must make fun of her for it. Momma says people do that, make fun of people that are different, but I try not to. Now how do I show her that I really don't care if she's bald?

Taking out my own beanie from my back pocket I bring it right in front of her face and tell her. "My moms make me take it off when I'm inside you butthead!" I only called her a butthead because she called me a jerk face. And now I have to ask her to switch with me, great. "I was sort of hoping maybe you'd switch with me, I like yours better." She thinks about it, sticking her tongue out a little bit as she does and for some reason I think it's really cute.

"Fine," she says as she takes my blue and black striped one out of my hand and puts it on her head. She slides hers towards me on the table, but starts talking again before I grab it. "But, you have to take good care of it! It's my favorite one." I nod and put it on smiling up at her.

I stick my hand out "I'm Jade." I tell her and she takes my hand in hers, it's really warm.

"Tori." _Tori_, it suits her. I turn and go back to my Moms.

"Awww, you really do like her don't you?" Mom asks me I giggle and nod a little bit.

"HA! I told you!" Momma yells and we all laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the last chapter in this story the sequel will be The Progression of the Friendship. Sorry this took so long, I had to do my research and it took FOREVER.**

**7-YEAR-OLD TORI POV **

"_That isn't the hat you were wearing, where'd you get it?"_

I snap out of my starring and look back to my aunt, I point over to Jade's table.

"The girl with the pretty hair switched with me, her name's Jade."

"I thought that was your favorite hat."

"It was! But I think this one is her favorite too." I say placing a hand on top of my head and the beanie.

Aunt Sonja nods her head. "Maybe you should go ask her if she wants to play in the toy shop with you."

"Ok." I tell her and I get up to ask her.

Walking up to the table I see her mom and I guess her other mom, I'm still confused about that, are arguing but have smiles on their faces, like they don't really mean it. They stop talking when I walk up and Jade smiles at me.

"Hey, Jade, wanna come play with me?" She looks over to her moms and they both nod.

**THIRD PERSON POV**

As the two girls walk over to the toy shop, Alex Connors stands up and tugs her wife, Katie, with her.

"Alex! What are you doing?" Katie questions her lover.

"We're gonna go talk to the girl's mother." Alex states as she pulls Katie across the café, her doc martins clacking against the floor as she walked. Just looking at the two you would never think that they would be together. Katie dressed in a flowery top with a matching cardigan, cream colored skinny jeans and flats, her tawny hair slightly curled and hanging around her shoulders loosely. Alex was wearing a maroon top and black skinny jean with her boots and her dark, almost black, hair in a messy bun with an eyebrow piercing glinting in the light.

All of these thoughts ran through Sonja's head as they plopped down in the booth across from her. Smiling she looks up from her meal to great the couple in front of her.

"Hello?" She states with a questioning tone.

"Hey" Alex drew out the last syllable as she placed her elbow on the table and slid her chin into her palm. Katie nudges her in her stomach and she sits back up, Sonja chuckles quietly as the two stare each other down.

"Was there something I could help you with?" She asks nicely.

"We just wanted to introduce ourselves. Our daughter went to go play with your daughter." Katie explained with a nice smile.

"So basically we're making sure you're not some crazy axe murderer or something." Alex corrected her wife, receiving another jab to her abdomen.

Sonja chuckles again and opens her mouth to answer the two when Tori and Jade come running up to them.

"Aunt Sonja! Look at these cool key chains! Can I get? Please!" Tori asks, Jade holds up two identical key chains both having the diners logo printed on a strip of black rubber with a little silver key ring dangling from the top.

"Please, Moms?" Jade drags out with a pout on her face that she knows they can't refuse.

"Well with a face like that I guess we have to, Katie," Alex says and the two girls smile at each other when Tori gets a pained look on her face and clutches her stomach.

"Go," Sonja tells her as she gets up to accompany her niece to the restroom as the family of females grow confused faces as they watch the two walk off. "It's a cancer thing," she tells them quietly before disappearing behind the bathroom door.

"Here, honey. Why don't you go buy those key chains and wait for Tori to get back, ok? Katie says as she hands Jade a five dollar bill, urging her toward the bar where the cash register is located. Jade nods distractedly, still staring at the bathroom door, she walks slowly towards the cash register, finally pulling her eyes away.

Sonja comes back out after a few minutes and plops into the booth with an elongated sigh, covering her face with her hands.

"Was she throwing up?" Katie asks gingerly, trying to be as sensitive as she could.

"No," Sonja responds pulling her face up interlacing her fingers and placing them at her mouth. She looks like she's aged ten years since she had gotten up. "Severe diarrhea is one of the symptoms of her type of cancer."

"What type of cancer does she have?" Alex asks intently. Sonja looks at her with eyebrows raised, not expecting the serious tone from the apparently always joking woman.

"Alex is a pediatric surgeon and radiologist." Katie explains.

Nodding, Sonja returns to their conversation. "It's called neuroendocrine cancer, it's extremely rare and attacks her hormone sustaining nerves." Sonja paraphrases. Alex was about to speak when Tori steps out of the bathroom walking up to their table.

"Everything ok?" Sonja asks and she just nods. "Why don't you go finish playing, sweetie?" She nods again and walks to the toy shop. And Alex continues with her response.

"Well that explains her cheek bones, though I've never seen acromegaly look so beautiful before." Alex states in an ominous tone, watching the two girls play with some of the robots. Alex hated the idea of a child having to endure such pestilence, it was why she became a pediatric surgeon, so she could help them get better. It was also the reason why she was always cracking jokes, so she could see people smile after days when she was surrounded by people crying.

"Acromegaly is when your hands and facial bones are elongated, right?" Katie verifies.

"It's the feet too." Sonja revises. "Her hands haven't shown any signs of swelling but her feet." She stopped for a moment before continuing. "I don't think she'll ever wear opened shoes again."

"Won't the swelling eventually go down?" Katie inquires.

"The swelling, yes," Alex answers "but the bones would still be stretched farther than usual."

"Oh," Katie's demeanor visibly decreases and the all turn to watch the young girl play.

"What kind of treatment are they giving her?" Alex asks the Aunt.

"Right now she's getting chemotherapy, but…" she cuts off, not wanting to admit the failure.

"It isn't working, is it?" Alex says more like a statement than a question and when Sonja nods they all turn back to watching the two girls play.


End file.
